


Smiles and Promises

by Elfen, Suzie_b



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Sexual Content, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-29
Updated: 2011-07-29
Packaged: 2017-10-21 23:10:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/230891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elfen/pseuds/Elfen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzie_b/pseuds/Suzie_b
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fai's smile has always been false.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smiles and Promises

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Isabeau_Gower](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isabeau_Gower/gifts).



> So, once again. Spelling it Fai because of the phonetics and because it just looks better.

Kurogane stood near the barred window of the barely furnished room and looked out at the snow-covered landscape. They had arrived in Celes three hours before and it had taken them a full hour out in the cold, skulking through side streets to find a place that suited their needs -- abandoned, unwatched, and in a somewhat run down section of town where people were less likely to ask questions or give answers to those in power. It was damnably cold despite the fire that was now roaring in the fireplace.

It had taken some time for Kurogane to convince Syaoran that he could take care of Fai, but he finally had. He knew the man must by now be ready to fall over from hunger and wouldn’t give in to that need in front of anyone else. “I’m surrounded by idiots,” Kurogane said aloud to himself, then turned to the bed upon which Fai sat. “So are you going to tell me?”

Fai looked up, not even bothering to give him the small, fake smile he might otherwise have displayed. “Am I going to tell you what, Kurogane? I'm not sure I understand your question fully.”

“It's been a few days and you haven't complained about hunger. When are you going to tell me that you're hungry?” Kurogane's voice was demanding as always. “If you think I'm going to let you starve, you're wrong. So tell me.”

“If Kurogane wishes for me to feed, then Kurogane usually makes it so I cannot refuse,” Fai quietly stated, tilting his head sideways as he continued to regard the other man.

“Do you think I'm going to keep cutting myself so that you'll have no choice? The princess asked us to take care of you. How can I take care of you if I'm weak from injury?” Kurogane waited until it became all too clear that Fai was just going to sit there and watch him. “Come here.”

Fai flinched at the mention of Sakura and his eye closed briefly. The pain Fai was feeling was palpable, but Kurogane kept silent and waited. “Yes, Kurogane,” Fai said, resignation filling his voice as he stood and walked the few steps to stand in front of Kurogane.

Removing his shirt, Kurogane ignored the way the cold air pricked at his skin. “You need to choose a spot that isn't going to impede my use of a sword, and where the veins are close to the surface. Here,” he said and placed his finger on his neck as if he were taking his pulse, “is the easiest location.” He pulled out a small dart from one pocket and held it out to Fai. “Use this to break the skin in two or three spots close together. Puncture wounds close more easily.”

Fai took the dart, closing his fingers around it reluctantly. He stared at it for several moments before returning his gaze to Kurogane. “Why are you doing this?” he asked, unable or unwilling to hide the anguish in his tone.

“Because I can't see to be able to do it myself,” Kurogane impatiently answered, watching Fai before reaching out to take hold of the hand holding the dart and bringing it level with the spot he'd indicated. “And I'm not going to use a blade on my own neck. Now do it.”

“Yes, Kurogane,” Fai assented, quickly piercing the skin at the tip of the dart – once, twice, thrice – before letting the dart clatter to the floor as he stared at the blood welling up within the small wounds.

Kurogane waited until frustration took over before reaching out again to grab hold of Fai's arm to pull him closer. “Are you going to stand here while the wounds close so that you have to do it again? I refuse to have you so weak that you can't hold your own in a fight.”

Fai's eye narrowed, but he said nothing as he closed his lips over the slowly pooling blood. At first Kurogane felt only a slight pressure, and then all too soon that pressure increased as Fai began to greedily suck at the warm liquid that flowed into his mouth.

Kurogane let his eyes drift closed and tilted his head a little more to the side. His hand drifted to the back of Fai's head, fingers twining into the other man's hair before he realized that he was doing it. “Next time, don't wait so long.”

“Yes, Kurogane,” was whispered against his skin before Fai returned to his feeding. After a few moments, one of Fai’s arms slid around his neck.

Kurogane’s arm slipped about Fai's waist, pulling him against him with a low growl. “And you can stop that. You never bothered to use my damn name before, why are you doing it now? You think anything's changed just because I wouldn't let you die?”

Fai pulled his mouth away with a gasp and he pushed against Kurogane's chest. “Let me go, Kurogane.... please. Everything's changed. You should all hate me; I deserve that hate. Why can't you just hate me?”

Kurogane let go only long enough to grab hold of Fai's arms. “Stop it. Do you think that just because things change you have a right to wallow in guilt? Do you think you have the right to tell me who I should hate? Trust me, if you deserved it, I'd kill you myself. That kid cared about you enough to want us to take care of you, but don't think that would keep me from hating you if I wanted to hate you or if you deserved it.”

Fai let out a short, hollow laugh. “Oh, Kurogane, haven't you figured it out yet? You were supposed to hate me. All along. You were never supposed to have gotten close; never supposed to want me to live. Don't you understand? I wanted to die by your hand before I killed her.”

Kurogane's eyes narrowed. “Killing you would never have been a challenge,” he growled. “I'm a killer, not a murderer.”

Fai hung his head and let his shoulders slump. “I know.... I know this now. It's too late, regardless. The curse came to pass and I cannot forgive myself. I will do everything within my power to get the princess back her body and reunited it with her soul, and then I will die.”

“I told you I'd hit you,” Kurogane warned, but then shook his head. “But even that doesn't work with you, does it? You stand there, hanging your head and acting like you want to die, but you don't. You want someone to kill you, but you're waiting for something else to happen before that.” Before Fai could say another word, Kurogane used his hold to pull him close again. “I've lost enough of the people that I care about to let you throw your life away without a good reason. So stand on your own two feet and think about others for once.”

Fai only tilted his head to the side and displayed that false smile of his. “Kurogane is very smart. But for some of us, it is not so easy to be strong for ourselves, let alone others. I have not succeeded and I'm tired.”

“Then I'll carry you for a while, but you're not going to die. No one said that it would be easy. So you can't be strong on your own?” Kurogane smirked. “Fine, I'll help you, but I'm getting tired of that smile of yours, especially when you don't mean it. The next time you smile at me, do it because you want to.”

Sure enough, the smile faltered and then disappeared altogether. “As you wish, Kurogane. I have no choice anymore, do I? You have made all my decisions and now you forbid me to die. You feed me and now you will carry me. If only I understood why I let you get so close to me when I knew it was not a good idea.”

“If you want something, then fight for it. You don't want to die, or you would be doing everything you could to make it happen. What you have to understand is that you didn't try hard enough to keep me away. You knew that I saw through your false front, but you never once changed your tactics. ...and you never really shut up, do you? You aren't hearing me.” Without waiting for a reaction, Kurogane reached up to place his hand on the back of Fai's neck. “You don't have a choice in who I want to protect or who I want to care about. If I want to care about you, then there's nothing you can do to stop me.” Before another word could be said, he pulled Fai in for a kiss that was as harsh as his words had been.

Fai's hands braced against Kurogane's chest, but he didn't try to push away. A soft whimper, nearly a whine, escaped his throat a moment before the kiss was returned. Fai's mouth moved against Kurogane’s in an almost desperate way, while Fai's arms curled around him and held him tight.

Kurogane finally relented, letting the kiss become something less forceful but not stopping until he was certain he would have Fai gasping for air. Finally, when his own need to breathe was too much to ignore, he pulled back and looked into the other man's face. “Stop trying to leave me.”

Fai sighed and pressed his forehead against the side of Kurogane's neck as he caught his breath. “You make it difficult to disobey you. Impossible I would say. And the truth is that I don't want to leave you, Kurogane, but that scares me so very much.”

“So be afraid, there's nothing wrong with that, just don't let your fear paralyze you. You're not weak.” Kurogane reached up, hesitating a moment before placing his hand against Fai's back. He'd never had a chance to learn exactly how one comforted another without harsh words.

Pulling back, Fai stared at him with an unreadable expression. Then, slowly, Fai began to smile - a very real, very genuine smile. “Kuro-chan is trying to make me feel better. It would help, perhaps, if you also tried not to look so scary.”

Kurogane's expression quickly became a scowl. “I don't look scary! This is how I look.” Once he realized that he was falling into the same old pattern, he grumbled, and then started to grin. “That smile is much better when you mean it.”

“So you have told me,” Fai replied, letting the fingers of one hand lightly caress the nape of Kurogane's neck. “I can't promise to always show you this smile, but I will try if you ask it of me.”

“Then show it to me when you feel happy and look angry when you're angry. Just try not to look sad too often.” The last statement is said in a lower voice, as if Kurogane actually had trouble uttering the words. Before it could be commented upon, he pulled Fai in for another, less forceful kiss.

This time Kurogane's kiss was returned from the beginning and with much less desperation but no less need on Fai's part. Soft lips part beneath his, welcoming the thrust of his tongue and instead of a whimper, Fai softly moaned.

Kurogane's arm let go its hold on Fai only long enough for his hand to slide under the back of Fai’s shirt. He hesitated only a moment before bringing his fingers in contact with the other man's skin and skimming his fingers along Fai's spine. Once his need to breathe became too much, he turned his attention to Fai's neck and stopped long enough to whisper into Fai’s ear, “You don't have to worry about hurting me when you take my blood. The truth is that when you do that, I don't mind it.”

“Kuro...” Fai closed his eye and shivered when Kurogane's fingers came in contact with his skin. Those whispered words made him suck in a breath and expel it slowly. “Are you sure?” he asked in return. “I worry about taking too much. Sometimes it's difficult for me to want to stop. Your blood calls to me. You call to me.”

Kurogane didn't explain right away, instead he turned his head to suck at the skin of Fai's neck enough to mark him before pulling back. “Does that hurt you? Or make you want me to stop?” Without waiting for an answer, he returned his mouth to Fai's neck, this time grazing his teeth along the skin.

“No, it doesn't,” Fai barely managed to say before he moaned again. His hands perched on Kurogane's shoulders where they gripped tight enough to bruise. Fai acted as if he were starved for such attention - starved for any affection - which was more than likely considering the way he kept himself slightly apart from everyone.

“Then don't worry about it,” Kurogane assured as he considered the pressure against his shoulders and its implications. “I want to know what you want,” he finally stated as he moved the hand that had been cradling the back of Fai’s neck to join the other beneath Fai’s shirt.

Fai chuckled low in his throat. “Ah, Kuro-chan, you ask such difficult questions. I haven't been able to voice my own wants for so long, I'm not sure I know how anymore. I'm here, with you, isn't that a start? Perhaps you should tell me what you want instead.”

"Then learn, because I want to hear them before we leave this place,” Kurogane stated. “What I want is right here, or haven't you figured that out yet?” As he asked, he took a step back away from Fai, careful not to break contact with him even as he pushed Fai's shirt upward in order to remove it.

“Kuro...” His name on Fai's lips sounded like a plea and the hands that gripped his shoulders fell away as Fai took a single step backward. Holding up one hand, Fai stopped any movement Kurogane might make and quickly tugged off the shirt and tossed it aside.

Kurogane paused long enough to let his gaze drift over Fai before stepping forward to place his hands on the man's shoulders. “You can stop me if you want to, just as long as it's what you want, got it?” Once the words were spoken, he used his hold to pull Fai against him and wrapped his arms around him as if to keep him there. Kurogane wasn't an experienced hug-giver, not by a long shot, but if it was what was needed then he'd learn to do it.

Fai remained stiff in Kurogane's arms for the span of several heartbeats before he suddenly relaxed against Kurogane with a quiet sigh. “I understand,” Fai whispered into his ear. He was, Kurogane realized, trembling.

Kurogane let go just long enough to remove his own shirt. He assumed Fai’s trembling meant he was cold. The panes in some of the windows were cracked and even Kurogane had to admit that he found it uncomfortable. “Good,” was his only response before guiding them both back toward the bed until he sat back on it. “Then come here.”

“I am here,” Fai replied, a smile ghosting over his lips as he sat down on the bed beside Kurogane and looked at him expectantly. But before Kurogane could do anything, Fai leaned in and started to kiss him.

Kurogane's surprise was evident; the fact that it wasn't an unpleasant surprised revealed in the fact that he returned each kiss as if they had been his idea to begin with. For a moment, it appeared that he might try to take control of the situation and he couldn't deny thinking that, but if Fai wanted something, he was going to do his best to let him have it. After all, he reasoned, it was likely that Fai had never been given much say in anything.

Fai broke away from the kisses, looking almost shy as he gazed back at Kurogane. The expression lasted only a moment before Fai pushed him back against the shabby mattress and bent over him. Feather light kisses were trailed over his chest and he could feel the gentle brush of Fai's fingertips against his skin.

Kurogane had the growing suspicion that Fai had done this before and had to brush away a brief flare of jealousy. If the man's past had nothing to do with him, then whoever was in his past didn't either until it affected their future. He relaxed enough to enjoy the feel of Fai's lips and fingers on his skin, giving an encouraging moan as he touched upon more sensitive areas.

Fai made his own sounds of approval whenever Kurogane reacted to the stroke of his fingers or the kiss of his lips. He seemed intent to taste all of Kurogane's skin, making Kurogane rolled onto his stomach so he could trace the line of Kurogane's back with his mouth and tongue.

Kurogane's hands gripped the blanket under him, tearing away part of the fabric before he could stop himself. “...Fai...” He'd nearly asked – however rhetorically – where the man had learned to do that sort of thing but silenced the question before it could be spoken aloud.

“You wish to ask me something, Kuro-chan?” Fai shifted to the end of the bed and sat there, looking at Kurogane expectantly. “Could it be that you want to know if I have done this before? Ask me and I will answer.”

“No,” Kurogane answered, turning over onto his back again and sitting up. He reached out and pulled Fai closer. “You'll tell me on your own when you're ready to. I already told you that your past has nothing to do with me. If you've done this before, then you have, but it wasn't me.”

Fai came willing to Kurogane's arms and laid his head on Kurogane's shoulder. “Only you have told me that my past does not matter. Even if I know it does, you make me almost forget. Thank you.”

“It doesn't matter to me,” Kurogane corrected before silencing Fai with a brief, demanding kiss. “All that matters to me is that you're here and that I love you. If something from the past tries to hurt you, then it matters. Got it?” Yet another silencing kiss kept his questions from being answered, but he had enough trouble saying the words, he could deal with the answers later.

The shock on Fai's face was plain to see, even through the kisses meant to keep him from saying anything in reply. When Kurogane finally let the other man breathe, there were tears to be found in Fai's blue eye. “I don't deserve those words from you,” he quietly stated.

“It doesn't matter.” Kurogane's tone was firm. “When it comes to who I care about, I'll decide whether or not that person deserves it.” His grip became tighter, as if Fai had threatened to move away.

Fai chuckled suddenly and lifted one hand to wipe away the tears that had fallen down his cheek. “You are, as always, very decisive with your words and actions toward me. You know now how much I have lied. You have seen the horrible things I am capable of, and yet you tell me that you love me. Try as I might, I can't understand you, Kuro-sama.”

“Everyone's capable of horrible things and telling lies. It doesn't make you better or worse than anyone else. I've already decided that I'll kill whoever tries to harm you, it's my decision to make.” Kurogane hesitated a moment before reaching up to wipe the rest of wetness from Fai's cheek. “What you do now is your choice. You can hate me for it or you can accept it, but you're not going to die.”

Fai covered Kurogane's hand with one of his own, trapping it against his cheek. His eye closed and he smiled. “I've always had very little choice in most of my life, but somehow, when you tell me so forcefully what I can't do, I find I don't mind so much.” Fai's one blue eye opened again to look back at Kurogane. “All I have ever wanted was to be loved by someone before I died,” he confessed.

Kurogane leaned forward, placing a kiss on Fai's forehead before resting his cheek against it. “I'm selfish. I want you to live because it's what I want; because I lost everyone I cared about once.” He smirked, then, and reached up to trail his fingers over the back of Fai's neck. “Too bad it's got to be someone like me.”

“I don't know how to be selfish,” Fai said in return. “Will Kuro-chan show me what it means to be selfish?” Kurogane felt Fai's hands gliding over his back a moment before Fai's soft lips kissed a path along his throat. “Show me,” was whispered against his skin.

Kurogane pulled Fai into a kiss before he turned and pushed Fai back against the mattress. He held himself back long enough to let his gaze drift over the other man before leaning in to nip at the skin of Fai’s neck, careful of the mark he'd put there earlier.

Fai started to tremble again as he lay beneath Kurogane, but his moans spoke only of the pleasure he was feeling. Fai turned his head to the side, baring more of his throat for Kurogane's teeth to graze.

Taking encouragement from the reaction, Kurogane followed a trail that led from Fai's neck to just below his navel before looking back up at him questioningly. “If you want me to stop, you tell me to stop,” he reminded, trying to emphasize the fact that, with him, the magician had a choice.

“Don't stop,” Fai gasped. “Please,” was added a second later. He felt Fai's slender fingers thread through his short hair, felt Fai's body reacting to his touch, and realized how much it pleased him to be the one to make Fai react like he was.

Kurogane sat back enough to work Fai's pants loose. As good as they looked on him, they were a pain to get out of the way and he gave brief thought to just cutting the damned things off. Finally, he prevailed and shifted from the bed long enough to remove the rest of both Fai’s clothing and his own before settling himself back onto the mattress between Fai’s parted legs to take up the path of kisses he'd started.

Fai tensed briefly then sighed; his body relaxed with the long exhalation of breath and his fingers returned to caressing Kurogane's hair. Small gasps and moans escaped his lips whenever Kurogane's mouth skimmed a particularly sensitive spot.

Kurogane took the time to nip at the skin at the inside of each thigh before pausing to cast a glance upward. He smiled at the reaction and expression before his gaze drifted downward again. He'd decided that his one goal was to distract Fai so much that he forgot that he didn't know how to be selfish, and he knew exactly how to do that. With a low chuckle, he dipped his head to take Fai’s cock into his mouth, not pausing to remind him of his choices this time. He knew them already.

“Kuro!” Fai cried out in surprise as his back arched and he pushed his cock further into Kurogane's mouth. It was a reflexive action, Kurogane knew, and he accepted what Fai had to offer without hesitation. The fingers in his hair tightened almost painfully for several seconds before Fai managed to relax to some degree. “You should have warned me first,” he heard Fai mutter.

Kurogane wanted to pull his mouth away and laugh, but that would mean stopping and he just wasn't willing. He couldn't help chuckling a little at Fai’s reaction, and made a mental note to mention this later. With that thought in his mind, he returned to the business of trying to make Fai lose control.

Fai's breathing grew ragged and soon enough his hips rose and fell against the mattress as he pushed and pulled his cock in and out of Kurogane's mouth. His soft moans became louder until they were suddenly muffled. A quick glimpse upward showed Kurogane that Fai had put fist into his mouth.

Kurogane took a moment to wet his fingers, though he never gave up on the task of coaxing yet more moans. While he kept Fai distracted, he slowly eased a finger into him, going gently at first and then curving to tease him further. The answers he'd gotten earlier had made his mind for him: everything that happened tonight would be for Fai, his own wants could be taken care of later.

He was rewarded by another muffled cry of pleasure and the feel of Fai's cock growing harder in his mouth as he began to unconsciously thrust faster. Kurogane backed off slightly, letting Fai fuck his mouth freely. Sensing the other man was close to reaching his pinnacle, Kurogane eased in a second finger alongside the first.

Still keeping most his attention on what he was doing, Kurogane glanced upward, wanting to witness the expressions on Fai's face. It would be easy to become addicted to seeing the man lose control. In fact, Kurogane was sure that he already had and was determined to coax still more. If Fai wanted to know what it was to want something for himself, Kurogane was going to make sure that the next time there would be no 'please' involved.

Fai's eye opened to stare back at Kurogane a split second before Fai came forcefully inside Kurogane's mouth with a ragged moan that cut off as Fai bit down on his hand hard enough to draw blood.

Kurogane waited until Fai's movements stilled before he released Fai’s cock from his mouth, placed a kiss against each thigh and then moved to settle next to Fai on the bed. “Come here,” he urged as he slipped his arm under Fai's neck to pull him closer. “Let me see your hand.”

Fai curled himself against Kurogane and obediently showed him the small wound on his hand. His face was flushed, his breathing still quick and shallow and Kurogane noticed that he was trembling again. Kurogane maneuvered them beneath the blankets while keeping Fai's hand above the covers.

“You're bleeding,” Kurogane pointed out needlessly before placing a kiss against the wound and swiping the blood away with his tongue. “It'll heal quickly, but you don't have to do that, you know. Even if the walls are old, they're thick and that kid's probably already asleep or watching the door.”

“I didn't want Syaoran-kun or Mokona to suspect what we were doing,” Fai replied as he watched Kurogane lick away the blood. “Kurotan... thank you. But now you must allow me to return the pleasure you gave to me.”

Kurogane reached up to brush Fai's bangs from his face. “I told you that with me, you do whatever you want to do and you don't do what you don't want to do. You don't have to ask me. No matter what, I trust you.” It wasn't an easy thing to admit, but he had to admit that it was the truth.

Fai nodded back to Kurogane and even gave him a slight smile before he lifted the blankets up enough to allow his hand to slide beneath. Nimble fingers were quick to wrap around Kurogane's cock and soon began to pump it up and down with a slow, deliberate motion.

Kurogane watched the smile until Fai's touch distracted him completely. With a groan of encouragement, he reached up to run his fingers through Fai's hair, part of his mind pointing out that he'd never really felt anything that soft and the rest reminding him that having someone touch him like this had never felt quite as good.

“Kuro...” Fai's hand stopped moving along his cock and then disappeared completely as Fai moved to straddle him. “You said we'd do only what I wanted,” he murmured, leaning forward to brush his lips against Kurogane’s ear. “And I want to feel you inside me.”

The words took Kurogane by surprise at first. Fai had finally expressed a real want – something he thought was going to take much longer. He placed his hand at the back of Fai's neck and urged Fai’s body against him. It was a verbal answer, but Kurogane had decided that they'd spent as much time with words as they needed to.

Fai relaxed his body against Kurogane's and lowered his face to nuzzle the side of Kurogane's neck. He remained quiet and still for several minutes, and Kurogane wondered if perhaps Fai had fallen asleep. Then he felt the light touch of Fai's lips on his skin a moment before Fai sat up again. “We'll need something,” he informed as he lifted one hand into the air and began tracing symbols with his index finger.

Kurogane watched the spell being cast with a growing grin as he guessed at the purpose for the use of power. As he waited, he reached out to trace his fingers over Fai's sides.

A small, crystal bottle appeared, filled with an amber liquid. It hovered in mid-air as it fully materialized. Fai closed his hand his hand around it and then glanced back at Kurogane, returning the smile. “Do you wish to use it or should I prepare myself?”

Without answering, Kurogane took the bottle from Fai and poured a small amount of the contents onto his fingers before coating them. Sitting up just enough to begin kissing Fai's neck, he answered the question by beginning to prepare Fai himself with surprising gentleness.

Fai tensed briefly when Kurogane's fingers entered him, as if he was expecting Kurogane to be rougher than he was. Soon enough he was relaxing again and even pushing back against the fingers that were twisting and stretching him from the inside.

Kurogane only stopped long enough to coat his fingers again with oil from the bottle in an attempt to take away the possibility of all but the most minor of discomforts. He studied Fai's reactions and the information they gave left him pushing anger aside in favor of determination. Even if Kurogane couldn't make Fai forget the past entirely, he could try to make him forget it for a little while.

“Feels good, Kurotan,” Fai whispered into his ear a moment before he heard a breathy little moan escape Fai's lips.

Kurogane waited until he heard several more of those moans before using the remainder of the bottle's contents on himself. “You're in control of this, but you have to tell me if I hurt you,” he instructed in a tone that gave away the fact that he'd take it as an insult if Fai allowed himself to be hurt.

Fai nodded his understanding and reached between then to take Kurogane's slick cock in his hand. As Kurogane watched, Fai carefully positioned himself before he started to slowly sink down onto the hard shaft, taking it inch by inch into his body until he was fully seated in Kurogane's lap with a soft groan of pleasure instead of pain.

It was all that Kurogane could do to keep control of himself and remain still until he was assured that there was no expression of discomfort. He encircled Fai’s cock with his still slick fingers and slowly started to stroke it. Kurogane hadn't touched anyone in this manner since before his family and everyone he'd cared about had been torn from him. Back then he'd been a teenager secure in the fact that his world would always be the same. It was quite a different thing, he decided, to want someone in the way he wanted Fai.

Fai balanced his hands on Kurogane's shoulders as he lifted himself off Kurogane's cock until only the tip was nestled inside his body. Before Kurogane could do more than gasp at the tightness surrounding the head, Fai thrust downward and moaned. He repeated the movements over and over in a steady rhythm, and his quiet moans grew louder in Kurogane's ear.

Kurogane let go of the tight hold he'd had on his control just enough to begin to move under Fai while still leaving him in charge of the situation. The speed of his hand on Fai's cock increased and he turned to mark the magician's neck yet again.

Fai groaned loudly, unable to muffle the almost continuous litany of pleasure-induced sounds that emerged from this throat. He bucked back against Kurogane's thrusts, wordlessly urging him to move faster.

The speed of Kurogane's thrusts increased as he encouraged more of those sounds from Fai without trying to stifle his own low moans. He gave no thought to what might be heard outside the room. Syaoran would ignore it and the meat bun already knew.

Fai threw his head back and let out a single, throaty moan that seemed to fill the small room as his cock pulsed and spilt its seed over Kurogane's hand. His body tightened almost painfully around the cock buried within him.

Kurogane's control lasted only a few seconds longer before slipping sideways and derailing completely as he came deep inside Fai. The arm that had been propping him up moved to circle Fai's waist in a tight grip as the world around him faded away into a point of light that he finally realized was the glow of the fire through Fai's hair.

Uttering one last breathless gasp, Fai then slumped against Kurogane and ceased moving. Kurogane could feel Fai's heart beating so fast that he wondered if it might try to burst from the other man's chest.

Kurogane took several minutes to catch his own breath, though he kept his hold on Fai the entire time. Once he could think again, he placed a kiss into Fai's hair before resting his cheek against the spot he'd kissed. “Tell me you don't regret this,” he whispered without making it a demand.

“No,” Fai answered in a voice that shook. “I could never - would never - regret this, Kuro. Because… I love you.”

Relief so strong that he was sure Fai would pick up on it washed over Kurogane and kept him from speaking for several seconds. When he did it was in a tone softer than the one that he normally used with anyone. “Good, then stay with me.” He knew the words gave away the fact that he had suspicions about what they were going to be up against.

Fai sighed deeply. “I wish I could promise you that I will, but I can't. Not right now.” He shifted in Kurogane’s arms enough to meet his gaze. Fai's blue eye glistened with unshed tears and a gentle smile curved his lips. “But know that if I was free to give you that promise, I would. That is not a lie.”

“I know,” Kurogane replied. “So I'll promise you now and make sure you're free to do whatever you want, even if I can't do it on my own. For now just do the best you can.” He held Fai's gaze for several minutes then shook his head. “But after this is done I want to see you smile again and mean it.”

Fai laughed lightly. “How do you know that this smile is not meant? Because it is, Kuro-chan. But you still doubt me?” He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on Kurogane's lips before he whispered against them, “From now on, the smiles I give to you will always be real.”

“I know, but I told you I'm selfish. I want you to always have a reason to smile,” Kurogane answered. “...and I have to tell that brat she was right,” he grumbled under his breath then shook his head. “We should get some rest, but lay here while I get a cloth to clean us.”

Fai's smile widened. “Is it so bad for Kuro-sama to be wrong?” he asked in a teasing tone as he lifted off of Kurogane's lap and stretched out on the bed.

The words earned Fai a grumpy look as he shifted from the bed. “No, it's not so bad being wrong in this case. What's bad is going to be the smug look on the princess' face if she ever finds out she did the right thing.” A cloth was wet with water warmed by the fireplace before he returned to the bed and cleaned first Fai, then himself. “Damnit, I'll have to put up with it from that meat bun, too.”

“Mokona will be pleased that mommy and daddy love each other,” Fai observed. He wasn't bothering to hide the amusement Kurogane's situation was affording him.

Kurogane frowned, but it wasn't quite convincing. “You're having too much fun with this,” he pointed out in his best grumbling voice before setting the cloth aside and climbing back into the bed. “But you're right. He'll be happy about it. Those kids will be relieved, too, once we've taken care of this situation. The princess really cares about you. Huh… I guess we're in the same boat. I have to admit that it's better to have someone to protect and a reason to fight and you have to give in and accept that instead of just one person loving you, we all do.”

“Yes, well, it's a hard to accept considering what I am guilty of. I can only hope that the princess will forgive me,” Fai said, his smile fading.

“If she didn't already forgive you, she wouldn't have told us to take care of you. If you feel guilty for something you had no control over, then put that guilt into not making yourself miserable. It'd make that kid very unhappy to know you're beating yourself up about it.” Kurogane laid back to place his head on the pillow and reached out to pull Fai against him. “We'll take care of this just like we've taken care of every other problem that's crossed our path.”

Fai curled up against Kurogane's side and laid his head on Kurogane's chest. “You're always so sure of everything. Never a doubt on how it should be. It's black and white for you, isn't it Kurotan? I find myself believing you, though. We have, so far, overcome all the obstacles.”

Kurogane rested his hand on Fai's hair and ran his hands through the blond strands. “It's because I don't have any doubts about the people I'm fighting beside and because I refuse to fail again.”

“Hmm,” was all Fai said. Kurogane looked down to see that Fai's eye had closed. He could hear Fai's breathing first slow down then even out until he was sure Fai had fallen asleep.

Kurogane combed his fingers through Fai's silky hair. “This time,” he murmured, “I refuse to fail my family.” Despite his best intentions, his eyes began to drift closed. He would sleep light, but it would be the first restful sleep he'd gotten in a very long time.


End file.
